Some have held (regretfully) that when our god
(Or gods) turns his/her or their face
From the world, horror occurs. Innocence is sod-
den with the blood of massacres, as fledgling nations are efface-
d and cast into that sudden, inexplicable chasm of aban-
donment. Then, confronted by this negative theoph-
any, all the saintliest impetrations on earth
Or in heaven – even from a Jesus, an Isis, a Gan-
esh, a Prometheus or a Mohammed the Proph-
et – are (or so these exegetes maintain) worth
Not a jot. I wouldn't presume to judge; but
I can say that when a nugatory father is lax
For a second, his child can be hurt – bruised or cut –
That quotidian tragedy does happen behind our backs.
(Or gods) turns his/her or their face
From the world, horror occurs. Innocence is sod-
den with the blood of massacres, as fledgling nations are efface-
d and cast into that sudden, inexplicable chasm of aban-
donment. Then, confronted by this negative theoph-
any, all the saintliest impetrations on earth
Or in heaven – even from a Jesus, an Isis, a Gan-
esh, a Prometheus or a Mohammed the Proph-
et – are (or so these exegetes maintain) worth
Not a jot. I wouldn't presume to judge; but
I can say that when a nugatory father is lax
For a second, his child can be hurt – bruised or cut –
That quotidian tragedy does happen behind our backs.
(19.6.1997)
